Peptic Ulcer Bacteria Helps Protect Against Asthma and Allergies

Filed in archive Allergy: Research and Development , Asthma , Hay Fever , Mold Allergy on April 25, 2007

This bug on the left is a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori. It infects the lining of the stomach and causes peptic ulcers, gastritis, and is associated with stomach cancer. A bad bug? Not totally. A new study indicates that H. pylori may help protect kids from developing asthma and allergies.

The study, based on an analysis of a health survey of 7,663 adults, showed that a virulent strain of H. pylori was especially associated with being asthma-free before the age of 15. People who carry the strain were 40 percent less likely to have had asthma at an early age than those who didn't carry the strain. The study also found that the microbe was associated with protection against ragweed and other allergies due to pollens and molds particularly among younger adults.

The authors of the study hypothesize that the antibiotics given to children to rid them of H. pylori might not have been a stellar idea.

"This is probably the first time in human history that we have children who are growing up without Helicobacter guiding their immune responses," he says. "By the repeated courses of antibiotics given to children, we are changing human microecology and we don't know what we are doing."

Read the full article from Science Daily. For more info on this bug, see the The Helicobacter Foundation.